Tupelo, MS — (February 10, 2025) Methodist Senior Services in Tupelo, Mississippi, announces the retirement of Steve McAlilly, President and Chief Executive Officer effective March 1, 2025.
Mr. McAlilly has served as the Methodist Senior Services (MSS) CEO since 1994. Prior to joining MSS, Steve practiced law in Meridian, MS, for 14 years. He served on the community volunteer board for Aldersgate Retirement Community, a part of the MSS family of retirement communities, where he developed a passion for serving elders. McAlilly was then selected to succeed Bill Carroll, founding President, at the helm of MSS.
In the thirty-one years under McAlilly’s direction, the organization has added several new communities, expanded services on existing campuses and rebuilt a campus previously destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. His leadership brought contract therapy services to MSS healthcare campuses, opened an in-house pharmacy to reduce direct costs for elders, and created The Beth and Henry Brevard Celebration of Leadership Academy which provides leadership development for employees. In addition to the leadership program, the MSS network currently includes twelve campuses offering housing and services for seniors, along with five service divisions, including Meals on Wheels of Lee County, NextAge Mississippi, SeniorTx, and SeniorRx.
McAlilly’s most significant contribution has been transforming the long-term care landscape for seniors both at home in Mississippi and worldwide. Steve was the first to take the promising, but then-undeveloped, concept of the Green House® Home model for skilled nursing care, conceived by geriatrician Dr. Bill Thomas, and turned it into reality. MSS built the nation’s first Green Houses® at Traceway Retirement Community in Tupelo, Mississippi in 2003. There are now 10 Green House® Homes, each equipped to house 10 or 12 residents, for a total of 112 residents in the All-America City. The MSS network features a total of 20 Green House® Homes offering skilled care, assisted living and memory support services. In the 20 years since those first homes were built, over 400 have been constructed around the world.
“I call Steve McAlilly the Godfather of Green House®, because without his vision, the model never would have made the transition from a concept to bricks and mortar,” said Susan Ryan Center for Innovation CEO. “The entire elder care reform movement owes an incredible debt to Steve for having the vision, courage and dedication to go beyond the status quo and commit to creating a better world for elders.”
For several decades, McAlilly has had a passion for elder care. Through his role with MSS and integral role with the Green House Project, he has continued to promote elder care reform. McAlilly has been honored for his courageous leadership with numerous awards such as the 2023 Center for Innovation Trailblazer Award and LeadingAge’s revered Award of Honor in 2012, just to name a few.
“They’re the people who made us who we are,” McAlilly said of the people he has served. “We’re called to honor, respect and love them. That’s what this organization does. I am honored to have spent my career working to make their life better.”
Methodist Senior Services has a tradition of providing housing and services to older adults in Mississippi for over 60 years. It has one mission: to serve older adults in the spirit of Christian love. Our approximately 1,000 employees and 1,600 volunteers make that mission their prime focus. Today, MSS serves more than 1,500 elders who live on its twelve campuses. It provides apartments for active older adults, personal care/assisted living apartments and skilled nursing care options, with campuses that range from almost the Tennessee line to the Gulf of Mexico. For more information concerning MSS or any of its facilities, visit www.mss.org.